


The Scars Say I Love You

by NovemberNights



Series: Eyepatch Keith AU [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Blade of Marmora Keith (Voltron), Blood, Blood and Injury, Does this count as Angst? I do not know, Established Relationship, Eye Trauma, Eyepatch, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, I take my fist and I punch you right in the emotional solar plexus, I'm Sorry, Is there not an existing tag for Kosmo? Blasphemy, Long Haired Pidge | Katie Holt, Major Character Injury, Near Death Experiences, Pidge goes by Katie again, Red Paladin Allura (Voltron), Scars, Shiro is not a clone btw, Tags Are Hard, not really - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-03-07 20:19:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18880519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NovemberNights/pseuds/NovemberNights
Summary: Seven years after the discovery of the Blue Lion the war with the Galran Empire still rages. Voltron fights on, aided by the Coalition, Rebel Forces, and the secretive Blade of Marmora. Despite heavy losses, their combined forces have not lost hope; Emperor Zarkon shows signs of weakening, and the exiled Prince Lotor becomes increasingly erratic in his movements. The time to strike is now, but the resulting power vacuum could throw the universe into unbridled chaos the likes of which haven’t been seen since the outbreak of the Quintessence War, and the rise of the Galran Empire.As Kolivan’s right hand, Keith finds himself increasingly in the midst of the combined efforts of the rebellion. Rumors spread among the remaining Blades as their leader’s eyes grow dim, and the current state of universal affairs only complicates the matter. Throughout it all, Keith finds solace in his constant—the Green Paladin."Everything around us is falling apart, even you, but I'll be here."





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> An AU I've been sitting on for a while. Kindof my take on how things would be if it took more than a year or two to take down a 10,000 year old empire, as things should be. Worldbuilding is fun so feel free to ask about stuff in the AU, what's different, etc.
> 
> Rating may go up depending on how descriptive I get.
> 
> Not beta'd but I think I've reread this enough times that it's good. So enjoy!

A Blade sits on a bench along a wall, legs set firmly as a brace against the motion of the ship. He is lithe, yet muscular, and grimaces with his hand pressed into a wound in his side. It is not the only one.

Across from him are two others, both clad in the shadowed uniform of the Blade of Marmora. They too are littered with small cuts. Blood dries on matted purple fur. It is not all theirs.

A rumble through the ship jostles the three Blades. They feel, more than hear, the landing props extend from within the hull. The lone Blade’s hand slips and smears blood below the wound. He casts a one-eyed glance at his gloved palm, slick with the dark fluid that reflects the dim purple lights, and clicks his tongue in a self-chastising manner. One of the others, Nyvok, grunts in discomfort as the ship touches down.

A door opens and the three turn their heads towards a broad figure silhouetted by light from the cockpit. He fills the doorway, yellow eyes scanning them for a beat.

“We’ve landed,” he says flatly, gesturing toward the rear door as it opens slowly. It forms a ramp, leading out into the bright white hangars of the Castle of Lions. Kolivan turns his attention to his left, “Keith, can you walk?”

The lone Blade pushes himself to his feet and nods, “I’m fine, Kolivan.”

“Good.”

Using his free hand, Keith makes a pass across his face with the side of his palm in an attempt to clean himself up. He knows he only managed to smear soot up into his bangs, and the blood from his split lip will look like an odd stain, but it’s the least he can do to appear presentable. Kolivan steps past him, overlooking the Altean hangar from the end of the Marmoran craft’s rear hatch.

“Disembark.”

Nyvok and the third Blade, Jalla, rise and start down the ramp to be welcomed by Coran, Hunk, and Lance. Keith follows behind Kolivan, stepping carefully. His limbs feel sore and heavy, and he lets out a quiet sigh as his feet make contact with the silvery floor of the hangar. The sound of a door hissing open grabs his attention, and he looks at the source to see Shiro and Allura enter the room in stride, cheerful greetings falling from their lips. Keith returns the sentiment as they draw near and hugs his side tighter, as inconspicuous as he can.

“It’s good to see you again,” Shiro smiles at him, and his eyes crinkle at the corners.

“Yeah, you too,” Keith says, forcing the corners of his lips up despite the pain in his side. “You’ve greyed out more since last time,” he teases.

Shiro rolls his eyes, “I think you’re seeing things.”

Keith manages to crack a strained smile at that, careful not to make his lip bleed, and shakes his head. They’ve taken to poking fun at each other by way of greeting ever since the rest of Shiro’s hair started greying. Keith lets the smile fade, gaze roving the room and skimming over the others. Hunk offers water to Nyvok and Jalla as they listen to Lance’s excited chatter. Kolivan hovers on the edge of his vision, and irritably, Keith compares the Blade leader to a mother hen. Allura stands to the left of Shiro, who casts a knowing look at the Red Paladin. She stifles a laugh with her hand and turns to Keith, short, white hair swaying as it frames her face.

“Katie will be here soon. She was neck-deep in Yellow’s defense systems when Kolivan hailed us.”

Keith nods and puffs a strand of dark hair away from his eye. He can feel Allura turn a critical gaze over his form, lingering for a moment on the obscured right side of his face. On his eyepatch, hidden behind his grown-out bangs. 

A small part of him shrinks away inside, uneasy with the concern the Red Paladin not-so-subtly shows. Panning the room instead, Keith shifts his attention to Hunk and the others. The sight of the water pouches draws him over, a welcome reprieve from Allura’s sharp crystalline eyes. He’s lucky the Blade uniform is dark enough to hide the blood.

Hunk smiles as he approaches and presses a water pouch into Keith’s free hand, “Glad you’re back in one piece, man. Katie’ll be happy to see you.”

“I hear she’s been doing repairs on Yellow. You take a bad hit?” Keith asks, taking a long sip from his water.

Hunk nods, “Yeah. We had a run in with one of Lotor’s squadrons about a week ago. Not a long battle, but a hard one.”

Keith frowns, “Lotor’s fleet? Where?”

“Out in the Gildarian sector. We were helping to evacuate the old Balmera there since it was starting its death cycle.”

“There haven’t been reports of Galra activity in the Gildarian sector since the Coalition formed.”

“They caught us by surprise,” Lance butts in as he draws near and stoops to grab a water pouch from the cooler by Hunk’s feet. “Allura believes the squadron was looking for a flagship class crystal, larger even than the one in the Castle of Lions.”

Hunk hums in solemn confirmation, “We were able to evacuate all the Balmerans, but the Balmera itself was hit by the squadron destroyer’s ion cannon toward the end of the battle.”

“We’ve been keeping an eye on the other Balmera lately, just in case,” Lance adds.

“That’s right,” Hunk says, eyes widening, “and Allura’s actually been wanting to talk to Kolivan about it, so you came at the right time.”

Lance drains his water pouch and points a finger at Keith, “Yeah. Why are you guys here, by the way? We don’t have another Coalition meeting for a few phoebs.”

“We just finished a mission and happened to be in the neighborhood,” Keith shrugs slightly. It’s only half a lie.

Lance claps a hand to Keith’s back and grins, “Glad to see you then, neighbor.”

Keith quells the hiss of pain rising in his throat with an awkward, toothy grin of his own, “It’s good to see you guys too.” He tries to ignore the way his side feels wet underneath his hand again.

Hunk’s face suddenly lights up with a wide smile, “We’re not the only ones glad to see you, though.”

Keith blinks and follows the Yellow Paladin’s gaze with his eye to a point somewhere behind him.

“Keith!” a voice calls.

He instantly locks onto the source. _Katie._ He musters up a soft smile as she runs toward him from the far end of the room and sends her a two-fingered wave with the hand holding his water.

The Green Paladin slows as she draws near and takes the water from his hand, sliding her fingers between his to replace it. Keith watches her golden-amber eyes scan him critically before she looks up at his face and beams.

“I missed you,” she says.

Keith tightens his grip on her hand, “Me too.”

Nodding to herself, Katie spins on her heels and leads him away, shouting quick greetings to the others as they pass them by. She moves at a comfortable pace for him, Keith notes. Fast enough to read as excitement, slow enough that he can keep up without agitating his injuries, and all together saying _I’m worried about you._ As they slip out the door Allura’s voice can be heard suggesting that the other Blades take this stopover as an opportunity go get themselves cleaned up and rested.

Katie continues to lead Keith through the ship’s corridors, maintaining her pace with ease. He still holds her hand firmly in his, tight grip the unspoken signal between them that he does, in fact, need help. 

The pair slows as Katie stops to open a door, and leads Keith into an elevator, which he is silently grateful for. Taking the stairs in his condition would have been less than favorable. The elevator ride is short, as the med bay is only two floors above them, but Keith takes the opportunity to rest for a moment and leans back against the wall. He can only think of how exhausted his body feels. The sharp pain in his side he attributes to the primary source of his wakefulness.

Katie half turns to look at Keith, his figure dark against the silver of the castle’s wall. His right arm is still held in place just above his hip, she notes, questions forming in her mind. She pushes them aside in favor of comforting the Blade. Humming, she steps back and sidles up against Keith’s good side, gently pulling his free arm around her shoulders with a smile.

“I’m fine,” Keith’s voice is soft, lips curling slightly.

Katie hums conspiratorially, “I’m not so sure that’s one-hundred percent true, mister.”

Keith pushes himself off the wall as the elevator comes to a stop, leaning against Katie for support, “You may be right.”

“I’d like to think so,” she says, then steps out of the elevator and hurries down the hall toward the med bay with Keith in tow.

Once inside the brightly lit med bay she steers Keith towards one of the medical beds, knowing his distaste for the healing pods (and frankly, he doesn’t look like he needs one). Katie hurries to wash her hands before she fetches one of the medical supply carts and hauls it over. She pulls up a stool from the nearest station and tugs on a pair of medical gloves while she sits facing Keith, who is now seated on the edge of the bed. His Marmoran knife lays beside him, unclipped from his belt.

“So,” she starts, pouring some antiseptic onto a clean washcloth, “what happened this time?”

Keith watches her movements as she brings the cloth to his face, dabbing at the cut on his lip. The solution stings a little, but he doesn’t wince. The throbbing in his side is more than enough of a distraction. He waits until she moves on to the rest of his face before speaking.

“Rough mission… we had to fight our way out. Jalla narrowly avoided an explosion.”

Katie nods, wiping off the soot from under his bangs, an action that he feels more than sees. Keith turns his gaze away from her hands, noting how her hair is pulled back into a ponytail. She’d been growing it out for the better part of their time in space, with further encouragement from Matt once they’d found him, and it now falls well past her shoulders. It brings a ghost of a smile to Keith’s face, but then he remembers he hasn’t finished answering her question.

Lifting his arm away from his side, Keith holds out his hand for her to inspect. She takes it in her own with a frown. “I took a pretty bad hit to the side. I’ve been trying to stem the flow of blood but my gloves are soaked through,” Keith explains. Only in the clinically white lights of the med bay can the crimson hue be seen staining the dark materials of his Marmoran suit.

At his words, the Green Paladin’s eyebrows dive down and she focuses her sharp eyes on the torn fabric previously covered by his arm. Keith doesn’t miss the split-second glance she spares for his eyepatch. 

Katie returns his hand, resting it on his knee as she scoots her stool around to his right for a better look. Keith rests his right hand in his left and exhales slowly, listening to Katie click her tongue in mild annoyance.

“You came _this_ close to busting that panel by your ribs, you know,” she chastised, standing up from her stool. “It’ll need some minor repairs. Nothing I can’t handle on my own.”

Keith nods, issuing a passive grunt of acknowledgement.

Katie steps around him to swap out the washcloth in her hands for a fresh one that she soaks with water. She steps in front of him, grabbing the stool and lowering herself onto it.

“Was it the sentries?” she asks, wiping the edge of the wound with the damp cloth.

“Yeah. We got swarmed.” He can feel the cool, gentle pressure she applies, and the fabric of the suit begins to feel less glued to his skin as some of the dried and semi-dried blood soaks out.

She bobs her head, getting up to switch out the soiled rag for another new one, once again dousing it with water. “Unzip the top of your suit, please,” she instructs, squeezing the excess water from the cloth.

“Are you sure you want that?” Keith asks playfully, catching her gaze as she turns around.

Katie feels her face flush and she scowls lightheartedly at him. “That’s awful bold, mister. Are you sure you don’t want an infection?” she quips, swatting him on the back of the head.

Keith chuckles, undoing the clasp at his neck, “Alright, I yield.” He unzips and shrugs off the upper portion of his suit, carefully peeling the material away from his skin near the wound. Grimacing a little as the suit tugs at a tender spot, he turns his head to assess the damage while he pulls his hands from the sleeves. They’re stained through the fabric.

A fist-sized area just under his ribs is torn and bloody, and the prosthetic patch above it is heavily scratched and dented, its flexible tiered plates pressed tight against each other. That explains why bending over had been such a chore.

Katie drops the cloth in her hands into his before fetching a replacement, “Looks like they did a number on you.”

“Yeah,” he says quietly. He turns his head away as she moves in with her damp cloth, gentle on his exposed skin. She soon swaps it out for another clean rag, this time with antiseptic. Keith grits his teeth and focuses on occupying himself with the task of scrubbing his hands while Katie applies her ginger touch to the wound. When he’s finished cleaning his hands, Katie takes both cloths and dumps them in the pile with the rest on the supply cart, then grabs a spray bottle of an Altean ointment. A few quick squirts and she returns the bottle to its place in the cart, filling her hands instead with a roll of gauze and a odd, gel-like pad the Alteans preferred over fiber pads for its healing properties. 

“Hold this,” Katie instructs, guiding his left hand to hold the pad in place over the wound. Keith nods, folding his other arm across his chest to keep it out of the way as she starts to wrap the gauze around his abdomen. The gel pad is soothing and cool to the touch, and he finds that the rent flesh underneath it begins to numb slightly. It’s a welcome relief.

“You can let go now,” Katie taps the back of his hand, and he slides it away as she continues to wrap the gauze, hands quickly passing the roll back and forth. She’s close enough that he can smell the remnants of mechanical grease on her from working in the Yellow Lion earlier. It’s a familiar smell, and one he finds comforting.

Tying off the gauze, Katie tears the end and leans back from her perch on the stool, sharp eyes evaluating her handiwork. Satisfied, she nods and cracks a smile, “You should be all set. You’re pretty resilient, it’ll heal up quickly.”

“I should like to think it takes more than a mere flesh wound to kill me,” Keith replies. For some reason, however, that seems to darken Katie’s mood, the smile falling from her face.

She stands up slowly and sets the roll of gauze in her hands aside gently, eyes searching the floor by her feet for the right words. She takes a breath and turns her gaze to Keith’s face, lips twisted in a thoughtful pout. Keith watches as Katie lowers herself onto the stool behind her with her hands on her knees, and softly, says “There was a time when I wasn’t sure you’d make it.”

Keith’s brows furrow and he reaches out a hand to cover hers lightly. There is a sadness in her eyes as she looks from his hand to his face, and the corners of her mouth turn up ever so slightly in a sad sort of smile.

“You lost so much blood that day.”


	2. Lifeblood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Katie recalls the day Keith lost his eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ~~squiggly flashback effects~~ bc i'm not gonna make y'all read 5000+ italicized words _and_ suffer. I'm not that mean.

_Three years prior_

“Hailing the Castle of Lions with an urgent message, do you copy?” _Beep._ “This is Nyvok of the Blade of Marmora, come in Castle of Lions. This is an S.O.S. call from the Blade of Marmora to the Castle of Lions—”

Allura awakes with a start to the wailing sound of the S.O.S. notification coming through her earrings on her nightstand, sending a sudden surge of adrenaline coursing through her veins as she jumps out of bed and snatches up the noisy purple crystals. She holds them to her ear, listening to the incoming signal as she hurriedly fumbles to find the sleeves of her bathrobe. A glance at the clock while she slides her feet into her slippers tells her it is well past a reasonable hour of the night, and she runs out into the hallway, steering herself toward the ship’s bridge. Red’s presence blooms in the back of her mind, and the robot cat’s concern ebbs into her own. The extensive depth of the sensation the Lion exudes is disquieting. Allura holds her earrings near her mouth to speak to the Blade.

“This is Allura of Altea on the Castle of Lions,” she responds, trying to keep her voice level as she runs, “I’m on my way to the bridge, please hold for one moment.” The S.O.S. siren peels throughout the halls of the ship, and it pounds against the inside of her just-awakened head. The Blade on the other end of the line, Nyvok, if she heard correctly, seems to sigh in relief and thanks her quietly. His nervous tone concerns her deeply despite this.

She reaches the bridge in record time, running through the sliding doors almost faster than they can open. The lights flick on upon her entry, and she doesn’t waste any time in reaching the control pedestal in the center of the room. She sets her earrings at her feet and plants her hands on the two tall, slender control pillars. Her grip is hard enough that she can feel her pulse in her hands, but she doesn’t let go even as she pulls up the communications channel link on the bridge’s main screen.

An unmasked Blade appears on screen, eyes widening and ears lifting slightly as she, evidently, becomes visible to him. He looks to be one of the younger Blades, she thinks.

“Princess Allura! Thank you for responding! Some of our members are in urgent need of medical attention and we’ve determined that the Castle of Lions is closer to our current location than our nearest base. We’re on our way right now,” he says quickly, tone laced with worry.

Allura hears the bridge’s doors admit someone else, but she ignores it, “Nyvok, send me your coordinates. I can perform a wormhole jump and get to you faster.” The door behind her slides open and shut once more.

Allura ignores it, but hears Shiro tiredly whisper, _“Coran, what’s happening?”_ She doesn’t hear the Altean man’s response as Nyvok begins to speak.

“That would be most appreciated, Princess,” he pauses for a moment and looks over his shoulder at muffled sounds coming from the rear of the Marmoran craft, then turns back to the screen. “You should also know that—” Nyvok winces at a loud voice and looks behind him again, moving just enough that the camera captures the doorway behind him.

“—nds bleed more,” Kolivan’s voice can be heard now that Nyvok has gone silent, and now the Blade Leader himself is visible in the doorway. There’s an odd, tense quality to his voice that Allura doesn’t think she’s heard before. Nyvok shifts uncomfortably in his chair.

The door to the bridge opens and closes again.

“Keep applying pressure,” Kolivan barks to someone, “Jalla, bring me that gauze. Hurry.”

Nyvok frowns as he turns back to Allura, and takes a deep breath, “You should know that Keith is among those injured.”

Allura hears a quiet reaction from the others on the bridge behind her, and a soft hand on her shoulder steals her attention away from the screen. Coran is by her side, the hand on her shoulder his, and he gives her a gentle squeeze of reassurance. Shiro and Hunk stand a little ways behind him. She gives the three of them a nod before turning back to Nyvok.

“Yes… thank you,” she says, suddenly understanding the Red Lion’s wave of emotion.

Nyvok dips his head, “Of course. I’m sending you our cruiser’s coordinates now.”

Allura allows herself a small smile as the string of digits appears in front of her, “Coordinates received.”

“Good,” Nyvok says, then whips his head around momentarily as another loud sound startles him, “Ah, it appears I’m needed. We will see you soon.” 

Allura lets her shoulders drop as the screen cuts out, and steps down from the pedestal, scooping up her earrings from the floor. She fastens her earrings, then turns to the others in the room, ready to take action.

“We need to prepare the medical bay for the Blade’s arrival. Where are Lance and Katie?”

Hunk raises his hand, “Lance went to go grab Katie from Green’s hangar, or at least meet her halfway.”

“That’s good. Shiro and Hunk, I’d like you to go find them and take Lance to the main hangar to receive the incoming ship and provide whatever assistance they need. Send Katie up to the medical bay, Coran and I are going to need her,” Allura says, turning back to the pedestal. “I’ll be sending us through a wormhole shortly, so be careful on your way down.”

Hunk and Shiro respond in the affirmative and rush out the door. Coran doesn’t leave just yet, however.

“Allura, will you be alright to wormhole by yourself? I’d like to get down to the med bay as quickly as possible.”

“Of course, Coran. Thank you.”

“Gladly. See you there.”

Allura watches him go and inhales slowly as she returns her hands to the ship’s controls. She focuses on channeling her energy to sync with that of the ship, bracing as the hole in space appears before the ship and draws it in. The familiar yet sudden increase of gravity passes in the instant it takes for the ship to zip through the wormhole, and with a mildly disorienting jolt the view from the bridge changes to an entirely different sector of space. 

The ship’s scanners immediately pick up the Marmoran craft off the starboard side of the nose, and Allura patches a quick message through granting permission to board. She lifts her hands away from the controls and steps back, sending a quick glance to the Marmoran ship as it approaches, and hurries to make her way down to the medical bay.

The elevator doesn't seem to move fast enough as it shuttles her down to the med bay in an odd silence, contrasting her previous trek to the bridge. Impatient, Allura slips through the doors as soon as they open and runs down the hall toward the med bay. Coran is busy moving around medical supplies and making sure all the equipment is fully functional when she walks in. Allura is quick to start helping, flitting between supply carts with stacks of cloths and gauze to ensure everything is well stocked. 

Katie bursts in shortly after, hands twisted in her shoulder-length hair as she ties it up.

"Shiro and Hunk told me you need my help here and ran off to the hangar with Lance," she says breathlessly, "What's going on? What was the siren for?"

Allura whirls on the spot as soon as she hears the Green Paladin enter and bustles over with an armful of large bandages. 

"Katie!" she exclaims. "Take these and make sure each station has a few," Allura deposits the bandages into Katie's arms, then turns and moves to grab more as she rushes to explain the situation, the words spilling out of her mouth hastily. 

"Long story short, the Blade just sent an S.O.S. They've sustained significant injuries and we were closer than their nearest base," Allura steps around Katie and pulls open a drawer from one of the supply carts. The drawer is empty, and she raises her voice.

"Coran! Where are the gel pads?"

"Third cabinet from the left!" Coran calls back from across the room.

Allura throws Katie a wide smile, "Can you get some when you're done with the bandages, please?" She doesn’t wait for a response before scurrying across the room in search of something else.

Katie nods, "Of course."

“Thank you!” Allura calls from afar.

“No problem,” Katie shoots back, shifting the bandages in her arms. She moves between stations quickly and leaves a few bandages at each before approaching the cabinets in question. She finds plenty of the gel pads inside and loads up as many as she can carry into her arms. She busies herself with distributing the gel pads, and is sliding the last of the supply cart drawers open when Lance runs through the doorway.

“Allura!” he calls out between breaths. A tall Blade follows him through the doorway quickly, with another Blade on their back, arm tied up in a makeshift sling. The dark fabric of their Marmoran suits is bloodied and torn in places, and the Blade with the sling appears to have burns.

“Lance? What’s wrong?” Allura asks, appearing from behind one of the curtains that divide the stations.

Katie leaves the rest of the gel pads in the drawer and shuts it, then makes her way over to the Blades.

“Allura, it’s bad. We need some stretchers. Jalla’s gonna help me run them down,” Lance explains, gesturing at the Blade towering over him.

Jalla nods, moving towards the nearest medical bed to set down the injured Blade. Katie rushes over to help while Allura heads over to retrieve the stretchers.

“Do you have crutches?” Jalla asks with a young, feminine voice.

Katie blinks and cranes her neck to look up at the masked Blade, “Oh, yes!” She points toward one of the larger cabinets, “We keep them in there, help yourself.”

Jalla thanks her, and Katie turns her focus to assessing the injured Blade’s arm. In her periphery she sees Lance fidgeting, and casts her gaze in his direction while she unties the Blade’s sling and repositions the arm.

Lance exudes a nervous impatience, and as Katie watches him, she catches the odd, painfully apologetic look on his face as he glances her way. She can’t help but wonder what it could mean as she returns her attention to helping the Blade, but somehow Lance’s nervous energy manages to pass onto her. She only gets as far as soaking a washcloth in water before she looks up again to watch Allura wheeling two stretchers over to Lance. 

“Will this be enough?” Allura asks.

Lance nods, “Yeah, perfect.” He twists around to search for Jalla and sees her walking over from the cabinets along the wall. She brings the crutches she’d found and sets them atop one of the stretchers. Jalla then thanks Allura, and she and Lance each take a stretcher and hurry out the door.

Allura turns away and returns to her previous task, leaving Katie to tend to the Blade once again, who has by now removed his mask. She presses the damp rag in her hands to the fabric around one of the deeper lacerations near his good shoulder, cleaning up the area. All along the Blade’s left side looks to be scattered shrapnel wounds, Katie notes with concern. She continues cleaning up the Blade’s smaller injuries, not wanting him to remove his Marmoran suit without a third person’s help for fear of paining him further by moving the broken arm. A few hours in one of the healing pods would do him some good.

The door to the medical bay opens again after a short while, drawing Coran away from the healing pods as Katie looks over her shoulder curiously.

Hunk and Lance run inside with a Blade on one of the stretchers, followed shortly after by an unmasked Jalla supporting another Blade on crutches. The faint smell of burnt flesh wafts in along with them, and Katie sets down the blood-stained cloth in her hands with a frown. She runs over to join Coran and the others.

“What’ve we got here?” Coran asks, eyes quickly scanning the two new Blades, likely taking note of their condition.

“Bad explosion and some collapsed structures. Burns, shrapnel, lacerations,” Jalla rattles off, nodding towards Katie to assist her with moving the Blade with the broken leg to one of the medical beds.

Hunk whines softly, his eyes trailing them as Katie helps to move the Blade, “Shiro and Kolivan are on their way with the rest. These three were the easiest to transport up here quickly.”

Katie works with Jalla to ease the Blade onto the mattress, careful not to put too much pressure on the burns, but the others still hold her attention. She can’t shake the burnt smell from her nose and fights the urge to gag as she watches the room slowly work itself into a state of nigh-frenetic urgency.

Lance bobs his head and motions to the Blade on the stretcher, “She’s burned pretty bad and there’s a large gash in her leg.”

“Let’s get started, then. Bring her to station four,” Coran’s voice lacks his usual cheerfulness.

Allura rushes back to the center of the room, “Alright, everything’s in order. How can I help?” she says breathlessly.

Katie waves her over to where she and Jalla are standing, “Come help us with these two while they’re busy over there.”

“Right,” Allura moves to their side of the room, and the three of them set to work getting the Blades patched up and prepped for the healing pods. They work quickly, and it seems as if both an eon and a few seconds have passed by the time the door opens a third time. Allura had only just gone to get the white bodysuits for the healing pods when Kolivan’s terse voice rumbles through the doorway.

“We can’t put him in a healing pod like this,” he says, tone laden with concern. It’s unusual to hear from him and it gets Katie’s attention. She looks around the Blade she’s helping to see Shiro and Kolivan pushing the second stretcher. A younger, unmasked Blade trails behind them with a limp in his gait.

“Coran!” Shiro hollers urgently, “Prep a table, _fast.”_

Katie frowns and shifts her feet to get a better view of the Blade that Shiro and Kolivan are wheeling in.

It’s Keith.

Her brain screeches to a halt.

_No._

_Nonono._

_Not Keith._

_Not him too._

She barely registers a pressure under her arms.

_NO._

“—tie!”

There’s so much blood. Even from where she’s standing, she can see it.

_KEITH._

Something cold on her forehead shocks her back to reality and she gasps for air. She looks around frantically, only for her face to be caught between Allura’s soft, warm hands as the stunning cold leaves her temples.

“Katie, Katie, hey. Look at me. Breathe,” Allura coaxes.

Katie exhales long and shuddery. Her heart is pounding in her ears. Deep breath in. She tries to focus on Allura’s face and blinks away the blurriness in her eyes.

“There,” Allura says softly, then looks up, “Thank you, Jalla.”

Katie doesn’t hear what the Blade says, and feels herself lowered to the floor. Jalla slides her arms out from under Katie’s and Allura grips her shoulders gently.

“Are you good? You almost collapsed.”

Katie shakily takes another deep breath, then nods, “Take me to him.”

Allura’s blue eyes search her face briefly, “Okay,” she breathes, “Okay. Let me help you up.” Allura shifts to her side, moving a hand to hold one of Katie’s while the other stays on her shoulder, “On three, ready?”

“Yeah,” Katie shuffles her legs around to stand up. Allura counts and pulls Katie to her feet.

“There we go,” Allura smiles smally and turns to Jalla, “I’ll be back soon. If you need anything Lance and Hunk should be able to help you.”

“Take your time.”

“Thank you. Let’s go, Katie.”

“Okay,” she says, steeling herself while Allura guides her across the room.

Shiro and Kolivan block their view of the operating table, and Coran is visible behind the two leaders, the Blade with the limp working quickly alongside him.

Katie can hear Kolivan and Shiro having a hushed, tense discussion as she and Allura approach. Shiro is the first to notice them, eyes moving from Allura, to her, and back to Kolivan as the words fall from his lips. Kolivan half-turns, falling silent when he sees her, a troubled expression written across his normally stoic face. Allura hugs Katie’s shoulders tighter. 

Shiro sighs through his nose and steps back to allow her in closer.

What she sees catches her breath in her throat.

“Coran’s going to do everything he can,” Shiro says softly, “He can’t go in a healing pod in his current condition. Maybe once we get him stabilized… but it can’t fix everything.”

Katie pries herself loose of Allura’s embrace and staggers toward Keith. He lies nearly lifeless on the harsh white table, eerily pale skin contrasted by the dark of his Marmoran suit and the vibrant crimson of his blood.

And it’s everywhere.

It trails down in rivers from a large gash running through his left leg where the flesh is rent wide open in a rough, jagged line.

It flows out and pools around a gouged out hole in his right side by his lower ribs.

It runs down his arms from myriad other cuts and lacerations, and stains his hands in a way that tells he’d tried to stop it, and failed.

It soaks deep and red into the fabric of his Marmora suit where fragments of shrapnel pepper his chest and bite into his shoulder.

It dribbles down his chin from a cut that tore the left corner of his mouth into a crooked sort of grin.

And it coats the right side of his face like he’d bathed in it, pouring out from more shrapnel wounds that criss-cross and bolt like lightning from his cheek to his temple.

His eye is flooded red, shrapnel poking out from it grotesquely at wicked angles.

Despite the Blades’ best efforts, the field bandages had done little to stop the flow. And how could they have? With such extensive damage? Most of them now lay in a sodden pile, discarded as Coran works to replace them with the more effective healing gel pads. The red stains on the cloth covering the operating table are a testament to just how much blood there is.

Katie shakily covers Keith’s left hand with one of her own, thumb rubbing nervous circles on the back of his palm. Her eyes trail the blood transfusion feeding into his arm and she feels her throat seize up in a choked knot.

Shiro slides a chair in behind her and places a gentle hand on her shoulder, “Why don’t you sit down?” he suggests quietly.

Katie nods numbly and eases into the chair. Something wet lands on her arm, and she looks down at it.

She’s crying.

She hadn’t even realized it.

Allura places a small box of tissues on the floor next to her and bends over to hug her from behind. “Oh, Katie. I’m so sorry,” she whispers into the younger woman’s hair.

Katie sniffles, her free hand going to clasp her friend’s in a tight grip.

“Nyvok told me when the Blades called but I got busy and forgot to tell you,” Allura adds in a hushed, guilty voice.

Katie nods in understanding. It’s close to four in the morning, and the whole situation had gotten so hectic so quickly. She rubs the tears away from her bleary eyes to clear her vision.

“He’s strong,” Kolivan says suddenly, his voice surprisingly raw and somewhat choked.

Both women turn their heads to face the Blade leader. He looks tired and sore, and the blood staining the sleeves and gloves of his Marmoran suit attests to his efforts.

Nodding, Kolivan takes a shaky breath and splays his fingers on the corner of the table, “He fought to stay awake and keep moving, but passed out immediately once we returned to the ship,” he pauses, solemn eyes trained on Keith’s face, “He’ll be okay.”

Katie blinks. Something about they way he spoke makes her think that last part was more for himself than her and the others. She leans over the side of her chair, slipping away from Allura, and slides her tiny hand into Kolivan’s large one, forming a link between him and Keith with her arms. She looks up at Kolivan’s face and sniffles.

Kolivan squeezes her hand, swaying it back and forth just a little as he glances down at her.

“He’ll be okay,” he repeats, just above a whisper. After a long second he takes a deep breath and turns to the Black Paladin, “Shiro, why don’t you and I stay and help Coran and Nyvok with Keith’s injuries so Allura can head back to assist the others. And Katie,” his voice softens, “Just keep holding his hand. That’s all you need to do.”

Kolivan releases her hand, and he and Shiro move to clean themselves up. Upon their return, Coran sets them to the task of cutting away the material of Keith’s Marmoran suit so they’ll have access to his wounds, and Katie watches.

She watches when the strips of fabric and chunks of broken armor are peeled away to reveal bloodstained skin and the raw edges of the wounds.

She watches when they pour Altean antiseptics over the shallower wounds and spray the deeper ones with more gentle cleansing ointments. She feels almost disgusted with herself when she wishes Keith would react. Hiss at the sting of pain from the astringent solutions. Show some sign of life. But Keith remains silent.

She watches Coran gingerly wiping away the blood drenching Keith’s face, pushing his sweat-soaked hair out of the way and revealing the angry marks carved into his feverish skin by the shrapnel.

She feels torn between averting her eyes and keeping them glued as Nyvok’s agile hands start the stitches by his lips; forces herself not to gag as Kolivan and Shiro close the nasty gash in his leg with a suture, and later insert a temporary prosthetic patch into his side.

Her hands never leave Keith’s, constantly feeling for his pulse in his wrist with trembling fingers, terrified that she won’t find it.

She notices when the blood transfusion starts to run low, and when she tells Shiro and he replaces it, she watches that too.

It’s hard to watch Coran carefully removing the pieces of shrapnel, and if she hadn’t already been crying, the sight of Keith’s chest full of little shards of metal biting into his skin despite his armor would have blinded her with tears.

But she can’t watch when Kolivan removes Keith’s eye. She buries her face into her hands, forehead pressed against the back of Keith’s hand as the Blade leader performs the arduous procedure after determining it couldn’t be saved.

He’s done this before, he’d said. Katie shudders at the thought.

And Keith is unconscious throughout it all.

Even when the extensive, hours-long procedures are complete, and Kolivan and Shiro are fitting his bandaged, far too pale body into the white healing pod suit, Keith does not wake.

It petrifies her. She doesn’t—physically _can’t_ —move when they finally are able to transport him to a healing pod and his hand slips away from hers.

It’s unheard of for Keith to be like that, and the open concern in Kolivan’s face is even worse.

Because Kolivan has always been this stoic, grounding presence.

And he is scared.

***

For three days Keith floats motionless in the healing pod, and for three days Katie camps out at the foot of his chamber, trying to distract herself with coding projects as much as possible. It’s hard.

The injured Blades had all left their pods already, the two with fractures the evening after they’d arrived, and the one with burns the following morning. Nyvok had been content to ice his sprained ankle in a tub of whatever filling was in those Altean gel pads, and Jalla and Kolivan had only needed minor treatments. That left Keith alone, bathed in the blue light of the pod, long after Kolivan had sent the rest of the team back to their base. As for Kolivan himself, he stayed.

It was a first for the Blade leader, who normally would leave after any of Keith’s initial injury treatments, allowing the former Paladin some time to recover and catch up with his old team.

This time is different. If Kolivan’s behavior after bringing Keith in wasn’t evidence enough, the fact that he stayed shows just how concerned he is.

Katie almost wishes he _had_ left.

Krolia arrives with Kosmo sometime that afternoon and spends a long time with her hand pressed to the glass separating her from her son. She has that look on her face as if the thing she most wants is to reach in and hold him, kiss him better they way mothers do with small children like she had never been able to. It breaks Katie’s heart and she leans on the glass chamber, squishing her cheek against its cool surface. Silent tears roll down her face for the millionth time, it feels like, and soon finds herself wrapped up in Krolia’s arms.

“I know, it hurts,” Krolia murmurs, rubbing Katie’s shoulder with her hand. Katie just nods, not trusting her voice to work properly.

Evidently she’d cried herself to sleep, she later realizes, when she wakes up to the sound of the five-minute alarm on Keith’s pod. She untangles herself from her blankets—someone had laid her down on her sleeping bag and covered her up, likely Krolia—and jumps up to watch the timer tick down, exciting Kosmo in the process, who'd been curled up by her head.

In less than five minutes Keith will be out of the pod.

Katie glances at the time on the datapad she’d kept by her sleeping bag; it’s late, but not past midnight yet. A nervous anticipation eats at her while she waits, but the feeling is assuaged by the arrival of Allura and Kolivan, who’d been on the ship’s bridge when the alarm went off. Krolia joins them right before the timer reaches the last few seconds, and they all wait with bated breath as the pod hisses open, the glass of the chamber sliding away slowly. 

Keith is lowered to his feet, and just as the machine releases him from its grasp, Katie’s breath hitches in her throat and she dives forward to catch him, because he’s falling.

“Keith!” she cries out, hoping what she’s thinking is wrong. She isn’t.

She’d seen the slight give in his knees in the split second after the pod shut off, and she _knew._ He wasn’t awake yet.

The pod had healed him, but Keith remains unconscious in her arms, and she struggles to stay upright under his limp weight as her tears start anew, her face buried into his shoulder. He smells so sterile, so astringent and clinical, and his body is just barely warm in her arms.

Coran and the others had arrived at some point while this was happening, and Katie feels Keith lifted away from her by the older Altean with the assistance of Shiro, and together they carry him over to one of the medical beds. Katie twists around, following their movements with her eyes rather than her body, because her feet feel rooted to the floor like she’s been hit by a blast from Green’s vine cannon. She takes a deep breath, trying to shake off the frozen sensation, and then gasps as her feet are swept out from under her and she is lifted into the air. Katie turns her head, and finds herself face to face with Kolivan, who has picked her up and is now carrying her in the cradle of his arms over to Keith’s bedside.

The Blade leader sets her down ever so gently in a chair someone had dragged alongside the bed. She looks up at him curiously, and he simply nods. She gives him a tired, tear-stained smile and a whispered “thank you,” then turns her attention back to Keith, watching Coran needle his arms with IV drips and monitoring devices. As the commotion dies down and the others make their way back to their rooms for the rest of the night, Katie refuses to leave her place by Keith’s bed. She soon dozes off in her chair, one arm resting on the mattress, her hand clutching Keith’s as if he’ll disappear.

The morning sees her sitting across from Kolivan when she wakes, a pensive expression on his face as he idly rubs Kosmo's ear beside him, the giant space wolf sitting like a sentinel at Keith's bedside. Katie takes a moment to check up on Keith, running her knuckles along the back of his hand in hopes of getting a reaction while she reads the screens monitoring his condition. No changes. Her eyes flit back to Kolivan.

He looks tired, judging by the slight sagging of his usually straight, set-back shoulders. They sit in silence, and Katie’s mind drifts, trying to think about anything but Keith’s injuries. What Hunk might bring her for breakfast this morning. Upgrade ideas for the Lions. Altean phrases she’s been learning. After a while Kolivan shifts in his chair and clears his throat, and her attention snaps back over to him, thinking he’d spoken to her.

“Klanmürl!” she blurts out the first thing on her mind, which turns out to be an Altean word, and she freezes, feeling rather silly. She’d been so focused on keeping her mind occupied she’d forgotten to pay attention to anything else.

Kolivan looks surprised for half an instant, then chuckles as she stumbles to find proper words, and replies with “Fearsome creatures, I’ve been told. If they weren’t extinct I’d like to train with one.”

“I… see,” Katie breathes, half confused, half grateful that Kolivan is just… _like that._ She doesn’t even think about how he knows what she just said.

Kolivan crosses his arms and fixes his solid yellow eyes on her for a beat, then says “You two are good for each other, you know.”

Katie feels her cheeks burn and buries her face in the mattress of Keith’s bed.

“Thank you,” she tries to respond, her voice just barely squeaking out of her throat. It comes out more like a “Fanf ewe” through the mattress.

Kolivan chuckles and stands up from his chair, “I’ll tell the Yellow Paladin that you’re awake.”

Katie nods into the mattress and mumbles another muffled thank you as Kolivan leaves with Kosmo on his heels, and, true to his word, Hunk arrives about twenty minutes later with a fresh, hot plate of breakfast for her. He sits in the chair Kolivan had occupied previously and chats with her for a while, and she’s glad for the distraction. Eventually Hunk leaves, and the others come and go throughout the day. Allura and Krolia stop by for lunch and reassuring hugs, Krolia planting a motherly kiss on Keith’s forehead before they return to the kitchen with the dishes.

Shiro is the last, stopping by around ten o’clock-ish to check on her and Keith, and advise that she get some sleep soon.

“I’m fine, Shiro,” she reassures him, “I’ll fall asleep la...ter,” she trails off, her voice interrupted by a beep from one of the machines. Both she and Shiro peer at the monitor, checking the readings for anything unusual.

But then Keith’s hand twitches underneath hers, and Katie gasps quietly, wrapping her fingers around his, “Shiro, he moved.”

Shiro fixes his stern gaze on the monitor more closely, “There’s more activity. All positive though,” he murmurs.

“Do you think… “ Katie doesn’t dare to complete the sentence, afraid she might jinx it somehow.

“He might wake up?” Shiro finishes for her.

Katie nods.

“Well—” Shiro starts, but catches his breath when Keith groans and turns his head.

Katie’s eyes widen, darting between Shiro and Keith. She leans toward Keith’s head, “Keith, can you hear me? It’s Katie.” She squeezes his hand gently.

His fingers tighten around her palm, and she stares at Shiro in stunned silence.

Keith continues to twitch and groan, and she wonders if he’s in pain. She knows Coran had administered another dose of some painkiller only a few hours ago, but it still concerns her. Perhaps it’s not enough?

And suddenly Keith turns his head to face the ceiling again, his left eye flashing open as he sucks in a deep breath of air, coughs a little, and winces at the sensation. He takes a moment to regain control of his breathing, and then he tries to prop himself up to look around, but Shiro beats him to it.

“Hey there, sleeping beauty,” he teases. “Take it easy, don’t sit up just yet. I’ve got you covered,” he reaches for the medical bed’s remote to elevate Keith’s head, and slowly Keith is brought into a semi-upright position. He ignores Shiro though, or doesn’t see him— _can’t_ see him—his deep violet eye immediately locking onto Katie’s face, and a weak grin spreads across his features.

Katie feels fresh tears trailing down her cheeks, this time tears of joy, and she leans in toward Keith with a giddy smile.

“Welcome back,” she says.

Then she kisses him, long and sweet, and she doesn’t want to let go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For every cute thing I write I have to write twice as much pain, apparently.


	3. Amber in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~~back to the future~~
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Katie and Keith have a chat while she makes repairs on his prosthetics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wanted to get this out sooner but I got sick and then I moved and thus have been tired and busy, oof.
> 
> You may notice I changed my icon-- it's Keith with an eyepatch! I redrew an older drawing & I must say he looks quite nice. ~~If I can figure out how to insert images in chapters I may do that bc those icons are tiny.~~ Since my image isn't hosted on a website anywhere I can't embed it, unfortunately ;n; Enjoy small eyepatch Keith instead.

“Let me know if it hurts and I’ll numb the surrounding area,” Katie says, fitting a slim magnetic screwdriver between the dented metal plates in Keith’s side. She’d just finished recounting the day Keith lost his eye, and he’d remained oddly silent afterwards, so she’d gone to get her tools to make the necessary repairs.

“Sure,” is the only response Keith offers.

Katie rolls her eyes. If Keith were standing up rather than laying down while she pokes around in his prosthetics, she knows that would have been accompanied by one of his noncommittal shrugs. She pulls the screwdriver out and transfers the dainty screw on its tip to a tray on the supply cart. She turns back and slides the screwdriver between the plates again.

Keith’s right arm lifts away from its resting position on his chest, and Katie glances up to see him turning his hand over and flexing his fingers in contemplation. He presses his thumb against the top of his middle finger, forcing the mechanical joints of the luxite prosthetic to bend independent from his remaining fingers. Katie plucks another screw off her screwdriver and sets both aside, working one of the battered metal plates free with her hands.

“It’s funny,” Keith says, “I don’t remember anything about the times my more major injuries were treated.”

Katie frowns a little, setting down the metal plate in her hands, “It’s not too surprising. Usually you’re in and out of consciousness for the more severe wounds, occasionally mumbling mostly incoherent things, but responsive nonetheless.” Regardless, Keith looks a little surprised. Katie reaches for the screwdriver again.

“You can even ask Kolivan. He’s always around during the procedures,” Katie assures him while angling the screwdriver into a screwhead. “When you lost your eye, however, that was the first time you’d ever been completely unconscious the entire time, and the first time Kolivan stayed as long as he did.” She removes another screw and takes a deep breath before continuing.

“It was the only time I’ve ever seen Kolivan show fear.”

Keith turns his head to look at her, his bangs flopping over to reveal more of his eyepatch. A taut expression crosses his face.

Katie raises an eyebrow at him and loosens the next plate. When she sets it aside and turns back to Keith, she finds him attempting to prop himself up on his forearms.

“Ah, hey! Lay back down. I love you, but you’re an idiot sometimes. I’m not done,” she grumbles at him.

Keith works his jaw as if he is about to say something, but then he looks away, lips twisting to the side in a petulant manner. “Fine,” he relents, easing himself back down.

Katie sighs and shakes her head with a smile while reaching for the screwdriver once again. Keith is still for the remainder of the time she spends replacing the plates covering his side, and Katie allows her thoughts to wander back to Keith’s odd expressions. He wanted to tell her something, that much was obvious, but she suspects his problem was _how_ to say it. So she lets him mull it over, and takes her time with the repairs. Once finished, she sets her tools aside and taps the back of Keith’s hand.

“You can sit up now,” she says, sliding her fingers around to fit into his palm and help pull him upright when he pushes himself up on his forearms. Keith swings his legs over the edge of the bed and stretches his arms slowly. Katie’s eyes linger on the scars decorating his exposed skin, and the way they dance with the roll of his shoulders. She suppresses a shiver. She loves them, yet at the same time wishes they were never there.

Keith is quiet for a time, before taking a deep breath and, tiredly, he says, “I want to be surprised, but I can’t say it’s unexpected.”

Katie gives him an odd look and sits on her stool in front of him, “What?”

Keith slides his palms down his thighs to rest on his knees, talking slowly, “Kolivan... knows his time is running out. He’s been grooming me as his successor for a while now, and he’s come to see me as his own son in the process. Especially since Krolia died,” he pauses, closing his hands into tight fists. 

“There are… suspicions, among some of the more senior Blades. I’ve overheard them talking on more than one occasion,” Keith shuts his eye and exhales. “Zarkon is weak, and Lotor unwilling to work with the Coalition. Once they’re gone, there’ll be a power vacuum in the Empire. They think, if push comes to shove and none of the Galra who seek the throne are willing to negotiate peace, that Kolivan… wants me to take it. And if that’s what it comes to, I will,” he says, looking up at Katie with a resolute stare.

“It’s not a perfect solution; there’s a lot that goes into it, and a lot that I don’t know, but I’ve got Voltron and the Blade to back me up. I know I could handle it, however much I’d rather not,” he cracks a wry grin, “Though I’ve never cheated myself with the thought that I’d ever settle somewhere. I’m built for adventure, and you would know.”

Then Keith’s smile fades, and he fixes that singular, gold-spattered eye on her with an earnest gaze.

“I just want to know… if that time comes, would you go with me?”

Katie feels her breath catch in her throat. She gives him a questioning look and swallows thickly.

“Are you asking what I think you are?”

The corner of Keith’s lips curls into a tiny smirk, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“You really mean it,” she whispers. She reaches for Keith’s hands, still balled in fists on his knees, and wraps her fingers around them, “I was beginning to think that it was the one thing that scared you. That if you ever—” Katie takes a breath to steady herself, “—if something were to happen to you. And I was left without you.” She sighs and presses her forehead against his.

“I want it. I really do. Even if—” Katie freezes, feeling Keith’s warm hands on her face.

“That’s why… when the time comes. When all this is over, regardless of the state of the Empire. We will, I promise. I love you too much to let the universe keep us apart,” Keith says tenderly.

Katie leans into his touch, “The universe brought us together once; it’s duty-bound to do it again.”

“I’ll hold the universe to it, then.”

Inhaling, Katie pulls her head away, but then wraps her arms around Keith tightly, burying her face into his shoulder. His hair smells of smoke and blood. Somehow it isn’t as repulsive as it should be.

Keith is stunned for half a second, such sudden physical affection a little strange to him even all these years later, but closes his eye and returns the gesture with a soft smile. For a while Katie refuses to let go, holding Keith close and soaking in his warmth. When she finally pulls away, she doesn’t go very far, inching back just enough for her arms to move. Her hands travel to Keith’s face, rubbing her thumbs along his cheekbones with a gentle touch. Keith’s eye flutters open at the new contact and searches her face curiously.

“Can I?” she asks quietly, fingers hovering near the edge of his eyepatch. He doesn’t always let her remove it. But sometimes, she gets lucky, if he’s feeling up to it.

He looks away and mumbles a soft, “Okay.”

Katie gives him a tender smile and slides the patch up with her thumb, reaching around his head to take the braided cord and lift it away.

The scars are messy. Skin had sealed over where the eye had been, haphazardly criss-crossed with marks from the damage and subsequent stitches. She traces the longest one from his brow down past his cheekbone with her eyes, and spares a quick glance at his remaining eye. His gaze is distant, focus elsewhere as she inspects the scars. His cheeks are slightly tinged, too.

She is rather close, she observes playfully.

Katie leans in and presses a kiss to the scarred eyelid. She can feel his browline twitch, but he doesn’t pull away, so she holds the kiss for a few seconds and steps back.

Keith doesn’t move. Katie sits down beside him on the bed, folding her legs underneath her as she slides her arms around his shoulders. A quiet hum escapes her lips.

"Everything around us is falling apart, even you, but I'll be here."

Slowly, Keith turns his head to look at her, shifting his body towards her and once more bringing them face to face in the process. Her lips curl into a small smile.

“Your eye is mesmerizing, you know. Like the midnight sky. It feels like I could lose myself in there, cradled by the warmth of the stars, and your love,” Katie murmurs, leaning closer. 

Keith blinks and then turns his gaze downward, “Then I’m sorry there’s only one,” he says softly. 

“Shhh…” she whispers, lips pressed against the scarred eyelid again. “Every time I kiss your scars I’m reminded of how grateful I am that I didn’t lose you along with it.”

Keith inhales sharply and pulls her closer into a tight hug, “You’re too good for me,” he mumbles into her hair.

Katie shakes her head, “No, we’re perfect together. And Kolivan will back me up on that.”

Keith rests his forehead on hers, her golden-amber eyes looking up at him, though he can only see one, “I love you more than I’ll ever be able to express.”

Katie smiles, bright like her eyes, “I think I get it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope that was sickeningly sweet enough to make up for all the suffering in ch2... and any future suffering.
> 
> Because I'm gonna make this a series! Probably just some one-shots of events in the AU that set it apart from canon as I think of them.
> 
> A note about Keith in this au: Those gold-spattered eyes of his. Keith in this AU exhibits his Galra lineage differently, and while I haven't pinned them all down(like, can he shift forms? not 100% sure yet), this is one of them. His mostly midnight-hued eyes are flecked with gold here and there and I think it's very pretty.
> 
> Also! I added a few appearances of Kosmo in ch2 bc I figured out how to include him in the au, yayyy! Krolia brings him with her if you want to skip to where he starts to show up.

**Author's Note:**

> Not my first work on AO3 but my first time posting it myself so idk how tags work yet. My earlier stuff can be found at iamdemosthenes, a super awesome friend of mine who posted for me back when I thought writing fanfics was a short term thing, & that an account was therefore unnecessary, lol. A fool, I was.


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